Mystery

Charlie Chan Shanghai Cobra (1945) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe)

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Charlie Chan - Shanghai Cobra (1945)

When three employees of a bank are found murdered with cobra venom, Charlie Chan connects the homicides to a case that he had worked on in Shanghai in 1937. Even though he arrested the alleged murderer, Charlie wouldn\'t be able to recognize him because at the time of his apprehension, his badly burned face and hands were swathed in bandages and he later escaped from the police. Although Chan believes that he is involved with a gang that is stealing valuable radium from the bank vault utilizing tunnels that connect to the area sewer system, his new identity remains a mystery. When a detective disguised as a bank guard is found dead in a tunnel by Birmingham, Charlie knows he is on the right track.

Sidney Toler ... Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland ... Birmingham Brown
Benson Fong ... Tommy Chan
James Cardwell ... Ned Stewart
Joan Barclay ... Paula Webb
Addison Richards ... John Adams
Arthur Loft ... Bradford Harris
Janet Warren ... Record Machine Operator
Gene Roth ... Morgan (as Gene Stutenroth)
Joe Devlin ... Taylor
James Flavin ... H.R. Jarvis
Roy Gordon ... Walter Fletcher
Walter Fenner ... Police Inspector Harry Davis

Director: Phil Karlson

Runtime: 64 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038080/

Codecs:

Video : 431 MB, 929 Kbps, 25.0 fps, 512*384 (4:3), DIV3 = DivX v3 ;-) MPEG-4 (Low-Motion),
Audio : 59 MB, 128 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = MPEG Layer-3, CBR,

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This Charlie Chan entry was more mystery-oriented than most of the Monogram Pictures versions, which tended to rely more on humor. The earlier Warner Oland-Chan films were like this one with the emphasis more on serious issues. I liked both Oland and Sidney Toler in the role of Charlie Chan, so I have no complaints either way.

As usual, it\'s Charlie\'s assistants: \"Birmingham Brown\" (Mantan Moreland) and \"Number Three Son Tommy\" (Benson Fong) who need to be rescued. They also try to help but usually wind up in trouble. Charlie has to solve the murder and help his buddies. It\'s a good thing because \"Tommy\" and \"Brimingham\" are the ones who add spice to this story, which was flat until the halfway mark.

This is kind of strange story and nothing was stranger than this jukebox that was rigged as a camera, with somebody behind it. It\'s hard to describe but it very cool, and something - technology-wise, that seemed to be way ahead of its time.

None of the Monogram Chan movies in the 1940s were \"classics\" but they all were entertaining and offered something different. This movie is typical: boring for some viewers, fascinating for others, lulls that shouldn\'t be there, but a good mix of humor, suspense and mystery.

In a nutshell, Charlie is called to Washington to help a Federal guy with a baffling case. Charlie owed him a favor so he is cashing in. It seems three people have been killed with cobra venom and the prime suspect is a guy that got caught in Shanghai eight years ago but now is not recognized. Only Charlie would know who the guys is, hence, they need him. (The suspect, \"Jan Van Horn\" was badly burned when the Japanese bombed the city, as the time of his arrest.)

Anyway, all three recent victims of the cobra bite worked for Sixth National Bank but the police have no clue. No wonder they always need Chan\'s assistance. Most of the officers shown in these movies are clueless about anything.

The story, even at a little over one hour in length, is slow in the first half hour and could use some punching up, but once Charlie\'s kid and \"Birmingham Brown\" go down to the sewers to investigate, the film is fun. Anyway, it\'s not like you waste half the day watching it. Charlie Chan movies are usually a fun way to spend a little over an hour.

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In 1937, Dan Van Horn was arrested in Shanghai for a murder in which the bite of a cobra was implicated. Van Horn escaped, never to be heard from again, although it\'s known that his face was badly burned in an accident.

It\'s now eight years later, and three employees of the Sixth National Bank have turned up dead, all identified as victims of the \"Cobra Killer\". The bank contains stores of radium for laboratory and hospital use, and is the center of all the skullduggery.

As we\'ve seen before, Inspector Charlie Chan is alternately aided and confounded by his assistants, Number #3 Son Tommy (Benson Fong) and chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) - \"You remain here until I find doghouse big enough to hold both of you\". There are just enough characters and victims here to need a scorecard, and truthfully, that\'s about the only way one can follow the action. Add to that the device of moving a laundry storefront one door down from it\'s original location to further confuse the investigation.

Van Horn (alternately referred to as \"Dan\" and \"Jan\"), is eventually revealed to be bank guard John Adams, who with his undercover daughter Paula Webb, have trailed the real Cobra Killer to the United States in an attempt to clear his name. The cobra device turns out to be not one, but two different gimmicks - a poisoned needle on the knob of a coffee shop juke box, and a similar set of needles on a cigarette lighter used to dispatch a detective working the bank building. The real Cobra Killer is a chemical engineer with an office at the bank, but as usual, his identity is only revealed at the end of the film, with only his profession providing a clue to the mystery.

The Shanghai Cobra is a nifty entry into the Charlie Chan series at Monogram (this is the 6th film), but view it with some suspension of belief, as any number of the scenes and elements in the film rely on a stretch of the imagination.

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I\'ve just finished watching this movie and I\'d be hard pressed to tell you anything about it. Its a good looking movie with some clever witty sayings but beyond that it simply blurs into the mix of every other Charlie Chan film.

I suppose the fact that this film doesn\'t ring a bell either way could be considered a good thing, I mean, you won\'t groan when someone mentions it. On the other hand its so middle of the pack that with every other movie ever made out there you may wonder why you should bothering watching it.

Why should you watch it? Because its forgettable, but doesn\'t suck. If that doesn\'t work try the fact you\'ve seen every other Charlie Chan film.

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* Actual footage of the Japanese bombing of Shanghai is used in the flashback sequence.

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